Researchers from Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning Honoured at AILA’s 2024 Vic State Awards

Facade of the University of Melbourne's Glyn Davis building, which houses the Melbourne School of Design. — The University of Melbourne's Glyn Davis building, which houses the Melbourne School of Design.

Associate Professor Andrew Saniga, Professor Philip Goad and Associate Professor Hannah Lewi, together with researchers from UNSW, UQ and Uni SA, have won the Award of Excellence in the Research, Policy and Communications at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) 2024 Vic State Awards for their research project 'Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities'.

Funded by the Australian Research Council and led by Dr Saniga, the three-year interdisciplinary project was the first comprehensive and national historical examination of the evolution of Australian campus design, analysed through the disciplines of landscape, architecture and planning.

The project culminated in the publication of a book by the same title that examines the importance of the design, landscape and buildings of university campuses in shaping and supporting the quality of life and work of the university community. The book also revealed that the environmental quality and sustainability of university campuses was central to the modern tertiary experience and represents a growing multi-million-dollar public investment in higher education infrastructure. The book’s detailed case studies revealed and reflected upon the physical responses to governmental, institutional, cultural, environmental and strategic shifts and demands.